He said it was time that Lim stopped blaming the previous government over tax returns losses of RM16 billion from the Inland Revenue Board as it was caused by his own administrative weakness.

Najib said he found it surprising that Lim continued to claim that the IRB returns were missing despite admitting he did not understand the previous government’s accounting system.

“I’m just curious, if 1.6 million companies and individuals are involved in this issue, why was it never raised by PH (Pakatan Harapan) in the Parliament or in the media for the last 10 years?” he said.

“Don’t all taxpayers’ claims need to be approved immediately before auditing for legitimacy?”

He also asked Lim to explain why it took the PH government three-and-a-half months to discover the losses and why it only raised the issue when the government realised that there was a reduction in revenue due to tax exemptions.

“It is likely the PH government has actually used most of the RM42.184 billion consolidated funds that the BN government had left to cover losses and now they want to shift the blame on BN,” said Najib.

“It would be best that a Parliamentary Committee or Royal Commission of Inquiry be set up to uncover the truth in a transparent manner.”